Dance me, Amadeus

"Mozart Dances"Where: Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, ChicagoWhen: 8 p.m. today, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. SundayTickets: $30-$75Phone: (847) 266-5100 or www.ravinia.orgChoreographer and opera director Mark Morris is "a brilliant man, and there are few people like him on the planet," according to Jane Glover, music director of Chicago's Music of the Baroque. Speaking by phone from Aspen, Colo., where she was to conduct Cavalli's opera rarity "Eliogabalo," Glover went on to gush, "I would do anything for him."When told of Glover's high praise, Morris laughed and said, "Oh, good answer!" "Jane and I work very, very well together," Morris said. "We're friends, and she's a great musician."Chicago audiences get an insight into Glover and Morris' mutual admiration when the Ravinia Festival presents Mark Morris Dance Group's "Mozart Dances" with Glover conducting the Music of the Baroque. It's the second appearance for the Mark Morris Dance Group following its 2005 Ravinia debut with the Handel-scored "L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato."Glover wasn't involved in last year's creation of "Mozart Dances," which was a sold-out hit for New York's Mostly Mozart Festival.The fest commissioned it to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the birth of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Yet Glover did conduct the critically acclaimed London run of "Mozart Dances" earlier this summer. "Mozart Dances" is the latest project Glover and Morris have worked on in the 10 years they've known each other. Another recent London project was this year's collaboration on Purcell's opera rarity "King Arthur" for English National Opera (Glover is set to conduct Morris' production at New York City Opera in 2008).When interviewed by phone in New York, Morris was helping to supervise the "Live From Lincoln Center" PBS-TV taping of the New York revival of "Mozart Dances" (transmitted locally but not live this past Monday evening on WTTW-11). Though Morris is known for choreographing to baroque music, he had largely avoided Mozart's work. "I wasn't actually scared or anything," Morris said, noting that part of his reluctance stemmed from his opinion that many other choreographers had mangled Mozart with lousy choreography. "I was hesitant, but now I've made a gorgeous dance.""Mozart Dances" is made up of three piano-heavy pieces. Piano Concerto No. 11 opens the work, while Piano Concerto No. 27 finishes it. In between is Sonata in D Major -- scored for duo pianos (played in Chicago by pianists Ursula Oppens and Amy Dissanayake). Many critics have questioned the selection of these three pieces for creating a dance."The stuff he wrote for dancing, well, there's not very much," Morris said, citing moments in most of Mozart's operas and his "German Dances" that he thinks are "really boring.""The fact that it's three big piano pieces -- that's unusual even a concert program whether you're dancing to it or not," Morris said. "It's a big, giant amount of piano-driven Mozart, which is what I wanted."Because Morris is a choreographer who can read music and one who insists on his company always performing with a live band or orchestra, he has the undivided admiration of Glover and many of her colleagues."All musicians adore Mark Morris because one has seen so much choreography that goes against the music. He is not only with the music, he sort of reveals the music to you all over again," Glover said. "It's just brilliantly imaginative and inventive and of course brilliantly executed by his unbelievable company."Still, Glover admits since she's conducting the first and final sections of "Mozart Dances," she doesn't get to see much of it. "But the duo piano sonata, I watch every time because I'm not involved in it," Glover said. "I get more and more out of it every time because of the complexity and the depth of the ingenuity of his choreography."As an authoritative Mozart historian (check out her critically acclaimed 2006 book "Mozart's Women" for proof), Glover has an opinion of what Mozart himself might have thought about Morris' work."I think that old Wolfgang would have been delighted, actually," Glover said. "(Mozart) fancied himself as a great dancer, and he loved dance."